Process of making self-igniters for gas.



UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

HERMANN' SCHIMMEL, OF CHARLOTTENBURG,GERMANY, ASSIGNOR, BY MESN E ASSIGNMENTS, TO GERMANTOWN REAL ESTATE, DEPOSIT AND TRUST GOMPAN Y, TRUSTEE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

PROCESS OF MAKING, SELF-IGNITERS FOR GAS.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I; HERMANN SOHIMMEL,

of Charlottenburg, Germany, have invented certain new and useful -Improvements 1n 7 meth'ods. It may be burned out or sub- 55 5 Processes of Making SelfI gniters'for' Gas of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in self-igniters for gas-burners of the sort in which use is made of a block or small'body of I porous material having in its pores platinum in a finely-divided formas', for lnstance, what is known as platinum-black.-

In the 'art as heretofore practiced use has been made for this purpose of such sub- I stances as meerschaum; but it has been found that when porous material of that sort is used in its natural formation and with its natural consistency a serious disadvantage is experienced in this, that the porosity is not 2 uniform through any given natural mass, nor

is it the same in difierent pieces, and this lack of uniformity exists not only with respect to distribution of the pores, but also with respect to their form and size.

In order to avoid the disadvantages incident to porous bodies in their natural state when used for self-igniters, I make artificially the cores, employing for this purpose pulverized orfinely-reduced substances which are 3 intimately and uniformly mixed with the refractory material, the non-refractory substances being such as can be withdrawn during the time when the core is being hardened or afterward and adapted to leave poresat the places where their particles were situated prior to such Withdrawal and depo'sitin the pores so artificially formed a finely-reduced platinum, as platinum-black.' .The' datter substance, as is well known, has the qgiality 40 of causing the ign'it'er to grow hot 5* its action 'ins'treams of gas'of certain sorts? The raw material for the manufacture of the core may be made'of 'any ulverized refractory substance which hast e roperty of forming a coherent body after eing subjected to heat or to other suitable treatment.

The pore-making substance may be of any material which is capable of being mixed with the core substance, it being uniformly 5o distributed therethrough and subsequently Specification of Letters Patent.

- eliminated through combustion.

Patented Jlu 10, 1906.

withdrawn without destroying the constitu- -tion'or the structure of -the core material. The pore-making substance 'canbe with- "drawn pr eliminated by either of several jected to high heat in such way as to convert it into'gas, or if it'be of the'proper char- .acter it may be washed out after-the core is hardened or converted into a soluble body and dissolvedthat is, dissolved either inits 6O initial condition or after converting it into a soluble body.

When following the first plan of carrying out nay-invention, I take a mass of pulverized clay or ofpulverized silicates and inti- 5 mately mix therewith combustible organic substances, such as charcoal, sawdust, and' the like. After the masses-have been mixed and have been formed into desired shape they are subjected to a suitable temperature 7 (preferably that employed in making bisque ware) whereby the mass is sufficiently hardened and caused to become porous to the desired degree, the organic substances being When following the second lan'of carrying out the invention, I mix wit the mass of core material a suitable substance, such as an oxid of a metal, as, for instance, the oxid of'aluminium or salt of an alkali, (for exam le,the chlorid'of natrium,) or any "other su stance that can be withdrawn oreliminated'by a solventwhich is inert or substantially-inert in relation to the core mass. 'For'example,

I intimately mixclay with' the pulverized 5 oxid of aluminium. After having subjected "the mixture to'a suitable high'temperatfure I subject; it 1 to: the action of hydrochloric acid;"Thi's acidwill convert the" oxid of aluminium into' chlorid of aluminiumfwhich can be washed out by treating the mass water. In this way the ore-makin ",slib- 'stance'fcar'ibe completely remove and empty ores will be left uniformly distributed throug the mass of the core for the 'abs'orp '9 5 tion of the finelyreduced platinum, or, again, both plans of roducing core'sof this sort can be followe in treating the same articles. For instance, I sometimes mix clay with pulverized charcoal and pulverized ioo I ecting the mass of refractory material, charoxid of aluminium.- I then sub'ect the mix trim or compound to a heat su ciently high coal, and oxid' of aluminium or their e uivalent to the burning treatment and efore eliminating or withdrawin the oxid'of aluminium I impregnate the ody with a solution of a salt of platinum-say,forinstance,.

chlorid of platinum. This platinum solution will fill the empty pores, or the pores of the first order, (previously occupied by the organic articles,)while the oxid of aluminiuman t e ores of the second order will be converted into chlorid of platinum aluminium. 'When the body is now placed in a stream of hydrogen or carbureted hydrogen gas, the chlorid vof platinum in the pores of. the first order is reduced to platinum-black while in the pores of the second order, besides platinum-black, chlorid of aluminium is deposited, which can be readily withdrawn by a washing process.

When the igniting-pellet is formed as herein described, no hygroscopic materials are left therein. A pellet of clay thoroughly freed from moisture after the pores have been formed by the removal of the oxid of aluminium or similar material contains nothing which will provide a hygroscopic salt, and after it has been fully charged with the platinum-black there is nothing present for the absorbing or holding of moisture. An ignitin -body of this material is readily'distinguis able-from one formed by charging a natural body which is more or less porous naturally or a natural body which is artificially made porous, in that in the present, case the pores and the pore-walls are uniformly distributed throughout the entire mass, in contradistinction from having areas of less porosity and areas of greater porosity, and conseqluently these pellets can be relied upon at al times for a continual ignitin efficiency, and the fact that the igniting e ciency has not continued uniform has been the principal thing which has rendered the earlier igniters unserviceable.

Another important advantage incident to In improved method of manufacturing se f-igniting cores is that it permits the connecting or attachin of the igniting-wires with the igniting-b0 y more intimately than they can be when following any of the plans of manufacture heretofore proposed. When joined by any other method with which I. am

hen following the present method of manufacture, the wires (preferably platinum or a metal of the platinum group) are inserted into the body of the material above described while still plastic and prior to subj ecting it to the burning heat, and during the burning operation, which occurs subsequently, the material contracts around thev wire, and a umon or connection is attained which, as above stated, is exceedingly intimate, and consequently the heat necessary for properly heatm the wire is readily conducted thereto an the igniting ofthe gas thereby insured and accelerated.

I claiin- I 1. The hereindescribed process of making self-lighting bodies for gas which consists in provi ized refractory core material, and a pulverized material intermingled with the core material and uniformly distributed therethrough, subsequently.baking,...the combined mass, then dissolving out the pore-forming material, then causing the deposit of platinum-black in the pores of the mass, substantially as set forth.

2. The herein-described method of forming a self-i niter for gas, it consisting in first making a p astic homogeneous mass containing a mass of refactory earth adapted t'o'be baked or burned into a coherent body and a mass of pore-forming material capable of being washed out, then baking the said plastic mass until the core becomes hardened into a coherent body, then washing out the poreforming particles and then causing platinumblack to 'be deposited in the pores of the mass, substantially as set forth.

3. The herein-described process of making a self-igniter for gas which consists in forming a homogeneous mixture containing re duced refractory core material and reduced pore-forming material intermingled with the refractory material and adapted to be ing a plastic mass containing pulverwithdrawn therefrom to leave pores'in the resulting body, .then subjecting the mixture to a high heat, then with drawing the reduced particles of pore-forming material and then causing platinum black to be deposited in the pores produced as aforesaid, substantially as set forth.

4. The herein-described process of making self-lightin bodies for gas which consists in making ap astic mass containing pulverized refractory core material, and a pulverized pore-formin material homogeneously intermingled wit the core .ma ter1al, forming the said mixture into the .p'r'oper-sized bodies, insertingplatinum. wires into the said plastic bodies, burning the plastic material and name to this specification in the presence of FauSingdthe iaii pattiflulill Wires to be firinly two subscribing Witnesses.

astene int e 0 y yt econtractiono its material, removing the pore-forming mate- HERMANN SCHIMMEL' 5 rial, and then depositing platinum-black in Witnesses: the pores, substantially as set forth. CHARLES H. DAY, In testimony whereof I have signed my HENRY HASPER. 

